L'HISTOIRE DU TJP

In 1974, the city of Strasbourg created the Maison des Arts et Loisirs (MAL) on rue du Pont Saint-Martin, in the heart of the Petite-France district. Actor André Pomarat, a graduate of Groupe I of the École Supérieure d'Art Dramatique and now a professor at the school, had just left the Théâtre National de Strasbourg.

With its committed and engaging programming, the MAL quickly opened up to artistic practices that were then ignored by theatrical institutions: storytelling, poetry, puppetry, mime and street arts. Four highlights, Animations de la Petite-Francethe Giboulées de la marionnette, Mimes and clowns and Fête des mots now punctuate the seasons. In every field, the MAL brings together regional, national and international artists, focusing on the unclassifiable and the inventors of new forms, working to renew and cross-fertilize disciplines.

This is how the public can see, for example:
>      At the Giboulées de la marionnette (created in 1977): Philippe Genty, Figurentheater Triangel, Björn Fühler, Compagnie Daru, Teatro Gioco Vita...

>      À Mimes and clowns (1978-1987): Claire Heggen and Yves Marc, Jango Edwards, Hector Malamud, the Mummenschanz, the Scalzacani...

>      To the Fête des mots (from 1979 to 1986): Valère Novarina, Abbi Patrix, Roland Engel, l'Attroupement 2 by Patrick Le Mauff, the Théâtre Populaire Romand...

The second French festival devoted to puppet theater after Charleville-Mézières, Les Giboulées has established itself as the must-attend event for this art form in full metamorphosis. Their success led the MAL /TJP, which became the Centre Dramatique National pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse in 1991, to specialize in this field. 

The artists invited by the MAL / TJP are not only present through their shows. Activities, workshops and artistic courses give these creators of new languages the opportunity to extend their research, while offering Strasbourg audiences other ways of meeting them.

Every early summer, the Animations de la Petite-France, one of the highlights of the season, offers residents of this then-popular district film screenings, free shows, concerts, balls and sporting events. From 1982 onwards, in partnership with other cultural establishments such as the Opéra du Rhin and the Service Éducatif des Musées, storytellers, comedians, musicians and visual artists took over the city, intervening in different places for conferences, visits and actions to prepare and refine the reception of a show.

1985 saw the birth of an original initiative: the Tremplin Jeune Théâtre, an annual "awakening to theatrical practices" cycle that enables dozens of young people, aged between 14 and 23, to engage in artistic practice (playwriting, acting, mime, singing, dance, manipulation) and discover the creative professions. A common thread: the way these young people look at the contemporary world. One objective: a public presentation of the writing work carried out by the participants.

A number of proposals enable the MAL/TJP to affirm even more strongly the place of artists in the city and the region.  

Today, numerous workshops continue this legacy, combining transmission and creation. Numerous artistic projects supported by the TJP invent new ways of interacting with the city and its region.

Since 1974, as a place for artistic creation and action, the MAL has been carrying out projects aimed at the very young. André Pomarat established the idea that the establishment was open to all, including children and teenagers, at a time when artists working for young audiences were suffering from a lack of production and distribution resources. By asserting that theater concerns all audiences, whatever their age, the MAL/TJP creates the conditions for the professional development of these practices; it becomes an exemplary and driving force, an international reference.

Reaching out to all audiences, the MAL/TJP extends its partnership with schools far beyond the Strasbourg conurbation, to the Bruche Valley and Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. But above all, the aim is to bring spectators together, so that young and old can share a common artistic emotion. Heir to Jean Dasté, a leading figure in decentralization, and to his daughter Catherine Dasté, a pioneer of theater for young audiences, André Pomarat knows that encounters with art are crucial to combating inequality and helping to shape the sensibilities of those who will become future citizens. He likes to quote Russian director Constantin Stanislavski's response to Léon Chancerel, founder of the Association pour le Théâtre et la Jeunesse, who asked him how to act in front of children: "Like in front of adults, but better."

To achieve this, André Pomarat surrounded himself with collaborators who shared his commitment and convictions: Philippe Dorin, Éric de Dadelsen, Pierre Halet, Ève Ledig and many others... It was the era of the Island driver (1982), from See Brant (1982), d'Ogrrre ! (1985), by Mowgli, the wolf-child (1988), from Ram-Dam or the sound mirror (1989). The productions went on extensive national and international tours, while guest companies from France and abroad came to create or present their shows: Amoros et Augustin (Sunjata, l'épopée mandingue, 1989), Parma's Teatro delle Briciole and Geneva's Théâtre Am Stram Gram.

As the MAL/TJP continues its work, this attention to the needs of all remains at the heart of today's CDN project, which encourages a genuine generational mix.

Creating an institution also means investing in places. Over the years, André Pomarat convinced the City of Strasbourg of the need to develop his project, first at the Petite Scène and then at the Grande Scène. Considerable energy was expended in obtaining the support of elected officials, negotiating and discussing with municipal departments, and thinking up, designing and fitting out the allocated spaces.

The birth of the MAL in the Saint-Martin church, a neo-Gothic Protestant temple built in 1905 and disused since 1969, is inextricably linked with the Petite-France district, then predominantly working-class. For several weeks in June, its courtyards, squares and streets are taken over by brass bands, outdoor shows, concerts and merry-go-rounds.

But within its walls, with a 200-seat performance hall, the MAL/TJP soon found itself cramped for space. The multiplication of creative and programming activities and the growing influx of audiences meant that other spaces were needed. While "Mimes et clowns" can take advantage of Raymond Roumegous' Fatrasie big top, other shows require a large venue to be presented to a wide audience.

As early as June 1977, under the impetus of cultural deputy Germain Muller, the city of Strasbourg planned to allocate the Maison du Renard Prêchant, a former cinema located at 7 rue des Balayeurs, in the Krutenau district, to the MAL. However, the Grande Scène was not inaugurated until 1982, after a series of twists and turns involving the city's technical services and two successive architectural firms. This gave the MAL/TJP a second facility: a 400-seat auditorium with a stage measuring approximately 10 x 8.5 m. In 1996, following its renovation, the Petite Scène was equipped with a cafeteria that could be used as a performance space.

In 2009, while the Théâtre Jeune Public was being directed by Grégoire Callies, the renovated Grande Scène was renamed Salle André Pomarat by unanimous decision of the City Council.

Even today, the TJP's spaces need to be rethought in the light of changing uses.

As an heir to the theatrical decentralization movement, André Pomarat claims a triple filiation: that of André Clavé (director of the Centre Dramatique de l'Est from 1947 to 1951), that of Michel Saint-Denis (founder in 1954 of the École Supérieure d'Art Dramatique de Strasbourg, of which he was a student) and that of Hubert Gignoux (director of the Centre Dramatique de l'Est from 1957 to 1971), who hired him into the permanent troupe of what was to become the Théâtre National de Strasbourg in 1968.

Inspired by these three models, and backed by his reputation as an actor and teacher at the TNS, André Pomarat embarked on a new Strasbourg adventure in 1974, setting up the Maison des Arts et Loisirs, with the help of a close-knit, militant team. The Compagnie du Théâtre Jeune Public was born in 1982: the MAL then became MAL/TJP, Centre Régional du Théâtre Jeune Public, before completing its transformation in 1991 with the creation of the 6th Centre Dramatique National pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse, directed by Pomarat until 1997.

During these years of intense activity, André Pomarat, who came to the theater for the love of words, had to limit his acting commitments. He did, however, take part in a number of projects that were close to his heart, including in 1985 The Legend of the Centuries by Victor Hugo, directed by François Lazaro, won three prizes at the Festival Off d'Avignon.

As a young man, André Pomarat dreamed of becoming an architect. A man of a single building, but one that he knew how to grow until it became a first-rate institution, he simultaneously travelled the roads of Alsace with a decentralized and sometimes bilingual program, toured his productions throughout France and Europe, and opened his theater to international artists.

Aware of Strasbourg's strategic position, André Pomarat began dreaming of a European Dramatic Centre for Children and Young People in 1987.

Today, international openness is an essential component of the artistic landscape. The TJP is increasingly keen to develop partnerships with European artists and institutions.

In 1997, the TJP entered a new era when Grégoire Callies succeeded André Pomarat as director. A puppeteer trained by Alain Recoing, Grégoire Callies arrived with a strong vision, determined to pursue and develop the puppetry adventure initiated by his predecessor.

Under his direction, the CDN affirmed its specialization in the puppetry arts while broadening its aesthetic horizons. It consolidates the Giboulées de la marionnette, which has become a major international event, attracting major companies and artists in the discipline. The festival became a biennial event, gaining in European influence and fully embracing Strasbourg's cross-border vocation.
Grégoire Callies pursues an ambitious creative policy, mounting texts by Shakespeare, Molière, Alfred Jarry and Samuel Beckett, revisited through the prism of contemporary puppetry. Creations such as Ubu Roi (2000), Waiting for Godot (2003) or Hamlet-Machine (2007) testify to his desire to explore the great texts of the repertory through the language of puppetry, blurring the boundaries between actor's theater and object theater.

During these years, the TJP also developed numerous educational projects in the spirit of those initiated by André Pomarat. Artistic education remains a priority, with new awareness-raising programs and workshops set up in the region's schools, colleges and high schools. The CDN has also established itself as a training and transmission center for the puppetry arts, regularly welcoming students from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières.

In 2009, the renovation of the Grande Scène and its new name "Salle André Pomarat" symbolically mark both the heritage assumed and the new impetus given to the Centre Dramatique National pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse.

The arrival of Renaud Herbin as director of the TJP in 2012 opened a new chapter in the institution's history. A puppeteer trained at the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières, he is rethinking the CDN's artistic project from the angle of exploring the relationship between Body, Object and Image (COI).

This innovative approach decompartmentalizes artistic practices, placing puppetry at the heart of a vast field of experimentation where visual arts, contemporary dance, music, digital arts and plastic arts intersect. Renaud Herbin invites artists from a variety of disciplines to engage in dialogue with matter, space and the body, revisiting the fundamentals of puppetry.

Renaud Herbin's creations such as Middle & Around (2013), At the still point of the turning world (2016) or L'Écho des creux (2019) bear witness to this research into remote manipulation, relationships of scale and the poetics of matter. His formally demanding work explores verticality and gravity, questioning the relationship between the manipulator and the object.

Under his direction, Les Giboulées de la marionnette underwent a significant metamorphosis, opening up even more to hybrid and transdisciplinary forms. The festival has become a truly international platform for the most innovative research in contemporary puppetry.

Attentive to the need to support emerging artists, Renaud Herbin has set up a research-creation laboratory, "Les LAB", enabling young creators to experiment around the triptych Body, Object, Image. This approach is accompanied by an important theoretical reflection component, with the organization of colloquia, practical workshops and the publication of works that contribute to documenting and conceptualizing the new orientations of contemporary puppetry.

The TJP thus asserts itself as an international reference for research and creation in the field of animated theater, while continuing its historic commitment to audiences, notably through the development of participative projects and new forms of cultural action in Alsace.

In 2023, Kaori Ito's appointment as director of the TJP marks a significant turning point in the institution's history. An internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer, trained in both contemporary and classical dance, Kaori Ito brings a singular vision in which the body becomes the point of convergence for multiple artistic practices.
His project for the CDN continues the transdisciplinary research initiated by his predecessors, while opening up new perspectives. At the crossroads of Japanese and Western cultures, his approach questions the boundaries between animate and inanimate, visible and invisible, tradition and modernity, bringing a fresh perspective to the arts of movement and manipulation.

Under her direction, the TJP has further broadened its scope of exploration by integrating choreographic, performative and intercultural dimensions. The creations on offer reflect a renewed dialogue between dance, puppetry, object theater, digital arts and ritual practices, nurtured by Kaori Ito's particular sensitivity to questions of the body, memory and transmission.

The Giboulées de la marionnette, which became the Micro Giboulées, opened up even more to Asian influences and contemporary hybrid forms. New international collaborations develop, notably with Japan, enriching the TJP's European influence.

Cultural action and mediation also take on a new lease of life, with projects that explore the sensory and physical dimensions of the artistic experience. Intergenerational workshops, sensitive tours of the city and innovative participatory schemes enable us to reach out to ever more diverse audiences.

At a time when the boundaries between artistic disciplines are constantly being redrawn, the TJP, under the direction of Kaori Ito, continues its mission to invent and explore new scenic languages. It remains faithful to its history while resolutely opening up to contemporary artistic challenges, confirming its unique place in the Strasbourg, national and international cultural landscape.

From the Maison des Arts et Loisirs founded in 1974 to today's TJP Centre Dramatique National de Strasbourg - Grand Est, the institution has never ceased to reinvent itself, while remaining true to its founding values: artistic rigor, openness to innovative forms, attention to all audiences and commitment to the local community.

Throughout its fifty-year history and the successive visions of its directors - André Pomarat, Grégoire Callies, Renaud Herbin and Kaori Ito - the TJP has preserved its singularity while evolving with the times. From the earliest explorations of the puppet arts to the most contemporary research into the relationship between body, object and image, the institution has constantly broken new artistic ground.

Today, the TJP continues to embody the pioneering spirit that presided over its creation, asserting itself as a space of freedom and experimentation where relationships between artists, works and spectators of all ages are constantly reinvented. At the dawn of its half-century of existence, it remains more than ever a living laboratory of contemporary performing arts, a place where new pages of transdisciplinary creation are written.